


Pour Me Out

by PrinceSkylar



Series: Taking Care Of Things [6]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Bonding, Crushes, Flirting, Hurt/Comfort, Introspection, Kankuros got it bad and Kiba does too tbh, M/M, Mentions of Sex, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2019-03-28 23:24:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13914378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceSkylar/pseuds/PrinceSkylar
Summary: Kiba wasn't sure if he'd ever be prepared for the times when Kankuro was vulnerable with him. It always knocked him off his feet and took all words from his mouth. Not that he didn't feel blessed to see this side of Kankuro. It was a side of himself that Kankuro didn't let anyone else see, save for his siblings, and well...Kiba liked feeling important to people. He liked knowing he was trusted so deeply.With just a few more days left of waiting, Kiba's started to realize he has more feelings to work out than he previously thought.





	Pour Me Out

**Author's Note:**

> I'll start off by saying the M rating is really just to be safe; there's some brief mentions of sex and a lot of cussing so I just wanted to be safe.  
> Anyways, here's some more of Kiba trying to stumble through his feelings about Dads, Boys, and life.

In the middle of the afternoon the sun was high in the sky and it was still ungodly hot. Gaara's office wasn't too bad, thankfully, and Kiba all but slumped into a chair that had been brought for him at the Kazekage's request. Kankuro stayed standing not to far away, a couple of feet to the left. Things between them were fine since that morning, since Kiba's apology and Kankuro's momentary fondling of Kiba's arm. They made breakfast together and took Akamaru for a walk around the village, only to be hailed to Gaara's office at high noon.

Gaara had his hands folded on top of his desk and waited until Kiba looked comfortable to speak up. "I didn't interrupt anything you two were doing, did I?"

"No, we were just walking Akamaru." Kiba shrugged a little bit. "We weren't too far away when we were told you wanted to see us."

"Well, I wanted to see you mostly." Gaara told him, tilting his head in Kankuro's direction. "But I knew he would come anyways. I found out information you might like to know-"

"First," Kiba held up a hand, cutting off the now surprised Kazekage. "Before you tell me everything you found out please tell me now if he isn't living here. Because if he isn't living in Suna I'll need a second to calm myself down."

There it was, Gaara's small smile. "He lives here."

Kiba wasn't sure what kind of feelings he expected to feel. Anxiety, sure, but that was a given; he'd been a mess of anxiety since he left home. There was some relief there at the fact that he didn't have to travel anymore, that he wouldn't have to go scouring the lands for this man. But knowing the man was in Suna after all brought a certain weight upon his shoulders, dragging with it the realization that he'd see him soon. He'd speak to him soon. He'd hear his voice for the first time since he was a toddler. He had to clear his throat a little, sitting forward in his seat a bit. "Okay. Keep talking."

"He was an active duty shinobi for about ten years when he moved here." Gaara explained slowly. "He switched to teaching after that, and taught up until the war. As it turns out, the reason I didn't recognize his name was because he remarried five or so years after he moved here to Suna, and he took his wife's last name. I don't know why but I assumed it was to avoid being found, but I don't want to make assumptions."

"He isn't a teacher anymore?" Kiba asked. "What does he do now?"

"He works for the hospital." Gaara replied. "He's a very skilled doctor, it seems, specialized in surgical procedures. He's so skilled that a jonin team that was sent to the Cloud village took him with them. I apparently approved of his departure...unaware that he was who you would need. As I said, he took on his wife's last name. Had I know he was the man you were looking for I would have-"

"No, no it's fine." Kiba cut in with a shake of his head. "So he lives here but as of right now he isn't  _in_  the village?"

"Not currently." Gaara murmured. "But the team he's with should be returning in four to five days. A week at most if they have any issues."

Kiba slowly leaned back in his chair, nodding again. "Alright...I can wait a few more days, then. Don't...don't say anything to him if he's there when the team comes to check in. I don't want him knowing I'm here just in case he tries to..hide or something."

"I won't say a word." Gaara swore softly. "It isn't my place to say anything. I'll inform you the day the team checks in so that you have the night before to prepare yourself...or however long, I suppose. I won't force you to go before you're ready. But I'll let you know when he's back and provide you the location of his home. From what I found out on the records he's still married to his second wife and lives in her family home with her."

Seeing his dad's second wife would be awkward. How was he supposed to introduce himself?  _Hi, I'm your husbands son from his previous marriage that he totally abandoned! Nice to meet you!_

Not likely.

"Well...thank you. For finding that all out." Kiba smiled at Gaara slightly. He rubbed his suddenly sweaty palms on his pants. "It means a lot to me. Him not being here gives me some time to figure out what I'm gonna say to him and everything else."

"You're very welcome." Gaara replied. "If I can do anything else for you do not hesitate to tell me."

Kiba stood up and nodded again. "I will." He assured him, looking over towards Kankuro who was yet again busily rubbing Akamaru's belly. "Back to the walk or to the house, Kankuro?"

"Actually, I have to stay a while and talk to Gaara about something." Kankuro pushed himself up and shot Kiba a small smile. "I'm not sure how long it's gonna take so I don't want to make you wait up for me. If you head back to the house can you actually take something out of the freezer for dinner? I don't care what you pick, whatever you want."

Kiba blinked in surprise, but who was he to say no to his kind host? Especially after his outburst last night... "Yeah, sure. I can do that. I might write a letter to my mom, too, while I have the time. Gaara," He looked at the Kazekage again. "Would it be an abuse of your power to send my personal letter to Konoha with your messenger bird?"

Gaara cracked another small smile. "Not at all. It...would technically be mission related, after all."

"You're great." Kiba breathed softly, patting his thigh as he headed out of the office. "Let's go, Akamaru."

Akamaru jogged out of the office at Kiba's side, barking at him to ask if they were continuing with the walk or going to the house. Kiba reached up and patted his side. "We're gonna go to the house, boy. I don't feel like sweating anymore than I have already today and now that I think about it writing a letter to Mom sounds like a good idea."

He was actually kind of curious as to what Kankuro wanted to talk to Gaara about alone. The two brothers didn't have any issues discussing Kage business around Kiba so he didn't think it was anything official or political. Personal, probably, and that made Kiba kind of nervous. After his tantrum last night he was worried that maybe Kankuro was more upset than he said he was in the bathroom. Just the thought of Kankuro telling Gaara how much of a child Kiba was made his skin crawl. But then again he could have been over reacting and working himself up again; he had no clue what the two were talking about and it wasn't his business. Even  _if_  he was curious.

When they made their way into the house Akamaru ran off, probably to the open back door so he could sniff around the garden some more. Kiba wandered to the kitchen, opening up the freezer and looking around at what meats were there. Chicken sounded good and Kankuro was a great cook; he could probably do wonders with chicken. Kiba put the frozen meat in the sink so it could defrost before he made his way upstairs.

He actually hadn't brought any stationary or writing utensils with him, now that the idea of writing a letter was floating around in his head. He paused in the hall way, glancing towards Gaara's bedroom door.

...No, he didn't even want to consider that one. Going into Gaara's room without permission just made him feel creepy. His eyes shifted towards Kankuro's bedroom door and he chewed his lip for a second, one hand idly tugging on the end of his fishnet shirt. Kankuro had seemed fine with the idea of Kiba popping into his room to grab clothes, some paper and a pen shouldn't have been any different, right?

Kankuro's door creaked slightly as he pushed it open. It was dark in the room, the curtains drawn to keep the sunlight from making it unbearably hot. This was actually the first time Kiba had been in the room and he took a second to look around and get a good look at what he could in the dim light. Kankuro's bed was pretty big, with white sheets that tangled with a black comforter as if Kankuro had never made his bed in his life. His head board was covered with papers, scrolls, jars of face paint, and some old glasses half filled with water. Across the room by the closet a couple of his puppets leaned against the wall, a startling image in the corner of Kiba's eye when he didn't know what they were right away. The floor had clothes and spare puppet parts, screws and bolts and scraps of cloth, littered around. His desk, which was under the window, had a neat stack of papers and some pencils and pens scattered on the top of it.

All in all it was almost what Kiba had expected, but the realization that this was the first time he'd ever seen it made something in his gut ache. He brushed the thoughts away and went over to the desk, snatching up one of the pens and grabbing two sheets of paper before he made his way back out to his own room.

Sitting back on his bed, paper placed on a hard cover book and pen held between his fingers, Kiba had to stop for a second as he thought about just what he was going to tell his mom. There wasn't much reason to tell her about his fight with Kankuro, she'd only try to write back to find out why. He could tell her that the journey to Suna had been easy, that Akamaru was being spoiled like there was no tomorrow. She was probably curious about his progress on finding his dad more than anything else, though.

He couldn't bring himself to write that he was married. That felt wrong to write in a letter instead of saying it to her face. He didn't have the stomach to do that. So he made it simple. He told her that he did indeed still live in Suna, but was out of the village on official shinobi business and he'd have to wait a few more days before facing him. He told her that he was nervous but determined, that he'd have a lot of information to bring home when this was all over. He kept it light hearted, sparing his mom anymore worry than he already knew she was feeling with him out here doing this.

With the letter written, and Akamaru coming back to join him on the bed, Kiba set the letter on the head board before collapsing onto his back with a small and satisfied sigh. Akamaru crawled closer to him, plopping his head down on Kiba's chest and huffing softly at him, tail wagging gently. Kiba's expression softened as he scratched behind Akamaru's ear. "I know, I smell anxious, don't I?"

Akamaru gave a small yip, his version of  _Damn right you do_.

Kiba chuckled softly and then he sighed, his free hand reaching up to rub at one of his eyes. "Let's take a nap, big guy. I slept like crap last night."

* * *

The next day Kiba found himself being lead around the village with Kankuro yet again. They hadn't talked much the night before, Kiba being asleep up until dinner time and Kankuro excusing himself for bed earlier than usual. It wasn't as hot today but Kiba had still left his jacket back at the house and Kankuro had left his hat at home, too. Kiba was kind of distracted by the way the other man looked without the hat. His hair was nice, not messy or wild like Kiba's could get. He was kind of jealous.

"Where are we going, by the way?" He asked after they turned down a street he didn't recognize.

Kankuro shrugged. "Well I figured you might be getting kind of bored, Akamaru too, so I had an idea that I think you'll love. It's a surprise."

"A surprise." Kiba mused, smiling a little bit. "Do I get any hints?"

"Not a chance, Dog Breath."

Kiba gave a dramatic scoff, one hand clutching his chest. "You  _wound_  me."

"Trust me, I'm sure you'll be fine."

As much as he wanted to ask more questions, Kankuro looked kind of pleased with himself and eager. That was a face Kiba didn't see often and it made him smile, so he dropped the subject. He didn't like surprises much but a surprise from  _Kankuro_  couldn't have been that bad.

He didn't know this side of the village well, only really familiar with the center and the market place. They passed the market place several streets ago, though, and there were more homes here than stores and merchant booths. He was glad he had Kankuro with him; a guy could get lost in Suna easily, exceptional shinobi or not. Granted, he could have used his nose to smell his way back to familiar territory. Even now he could smell the food cooking back in the market area. He made a mental note to try and sweet talk Kankuro into stopping for some sweets on their way back to the house later.

All too suddenly there were hands over his eyes and Kiba yelped, nearly stumbling over his own feet. "Kankuro, what the hell?"

"It's so it stays as a surprise." Well that cleared things up a  _little_  bit. "All you have to do is keep walking, I'll lead you. We're almost there."

"You better not let me trip and fall." Kiba warned in a small hiss.

"Kiba, would I ever let you fall?" Kankuro's voice was at his ear, closer than Kiba had expected. It sent a shiver down his spine, making his face heat up for some reason he couldn't identify.

Lips pressed together in a firm line, he only gave a small shake of his head. "You won't." He relented.

With no way to see where he was going Kiba relied on his nose, knowing Kankuro must have at least assumed he'd be trying to sniff his way around whatever this surprise was. No scent really stood out, though. The dusty smell of sand and the spicy smell of the food cooking a few blocks over, tangling with something that smelled kind of like dog. Dog wasn't a strange scent; it could have been Akamaru, or some one else's dog that had run through earlier in the day time. He was stumped and couldn't figure out where they were going or what this damn surprise was.

They came to a stop suddenly, Kankuro steadying him when he almost stumbled again. Kiba huffed softly and reached back behind him, hands pawing at Kankuro's torso and startling a laugh from him. "Come on, can I look yet? We aren't even walking anymore!"

"You sure do like to complain." Kankuro snorted. "We're here, anyways."

When Kankuro's hands fell away from his face Kiba blinked a couple of times, getting used to the sunlight again as he looked at the building they stood in front of. His eyes red over the writing on the building and in the windows and he whirled around to face Kankuro, a grin on his lips. "Suna has a dog shelter?"

"Yeah. It's more like a dog shelter and a dog breeder all in one." Kankuro told him softly. "We don't have any clans here that work with dogs. Cats and birds tend to be more popular, but this shelter was built back around the time Gaara first became Kazekage. They have a veterinary wing, a section for adoptions...kind of everything they'd need to take care of the dogs. People bring their dogs here for breeding so they can make sure the breeding process is safe and legal. A lot of travelers come through and buy dogs from here."

Kiba turned back around to look at the building again, a smile on his lips still. It wasn't a huge building, but it was wide, and he could hear the sounds of dogs barking and yipping from somewhere behind it where he assumed a kennel was. Even Akamaru seemed excited, wet nose nudging Kiba's hand in an attempt to get him to  _go inside already_. Kiba grinned and all but ran inside, Akamaru close behind.

There was a girl around his age, with light brown hair, at the counter and she blinked in surprise at him, but when Kankuro came to stand beside him her expression softened, amber eyes locked on Kankuro as if Kiba didn't exist. "Kankuro, it's been a while since you've come by." She gushed softly.

Kiba arched an eyebrow.  _She so likes him._

"Yeah, my friend here breeds dogs and his sister works at a vet clinic in Konoha." Kankuro's hand clasped Kiba's shoulder affectionately. "He's here for a while and he was getting pretty bored so I figured maybe you could help entertain him?"

Those amber eyes slid back over to Kiba, looking him up and down before she glanced at Akamaru, too. Her lips curled up in a grin. "I'm not supposed to, but I guess I can let him into the kennels and play with the dogs for a little while. You sound like you know dogs pretty well."

_You've got no idea_ , Kiba wanted to say. "Yeah, I'm familiar with them. It's okay if Akamaru comes too, right? He isn't aggressive towards other dogs or anything. He's used to being able to play around with other dogs so he's kind of excited just smelling the other ones here."

"As long as he isn't dog aggressive then that's totally fine." She walked around the front counter, heading towards a door on the far left that led behind the building. She led them through the door and to the kennels, rows and rows of spacious cages with fluffy beds and blankets for the dogs inside. The girl gestured towards another door ahead of them. "That door leads to the play area. We made a little yard for them to run around and all their cages open up back there. Most of them are out there right now if you want to go play with them. Kankuro, are you going too or...?"

She was trying to get him alone. Kiba knew the games all too well; he was friends with Ino, after all, and she used to flirt with Sakura the same way. Kiba spared a glance towards Kankuro before he gestured for Akamaru to follow him as he headed for the door leading to the play yard.

Given the fact that grass didn't grow here, the shelter had done a great job making a yard for these dogs. There was a roof constructed over the expanse of the yard to keep the sun from burning the poor dogs to death and There were dog toys lying all over in the sand, with giant water and food bowls in a couple different areas to cater to the animals that were running around. There were more dogs than he expected, too, of all different sizes running around with each other in the sand. The moment Kiba and Akamaru stepped out into the play yard all the dogs were barking in their direction, rushing over and plowing into Kiba with enough force to send him falling down into the sand. "Hey...!"

"Popular already?" Kankuro closed the door behind him as he stepped out into the play yard with them.

Trying to fight off the excited dogs lapping at his face, Kiba looked up at Kankuro with a small grin. "You came to join us? I thought you'd stay back and spend time with the girl who was obviously flirting with you."

Kankuro's eyes widened a bit and he blushed, a dusting of pink barely visible past the face paint. "Jeez, you noticed that? She's usually more discrete about it when other people are around."

"I spend a lot of time with Ino, it's pretty easy to tell when girls are flirting." Kiba turned his attention back to the dogs, lifting up a small, fluffy, black pup in his hands and kissing the top of it's head. "She didn't do the hair twirl thing, though, so I mean she was at least trying to be subtle. She totally wanted to be alone with you."

"Yeah, yeah, she's always trying to do that." Kankuro sat down in the sand with him, smiling softly as one of the bigger dogs tried to sit down in his lap like a puppy. "She used to flirt with Gaara, too, until she saw him with Lee."

"Gaara's cute, I could see it." Kiba nodded casually, setting the black pup down. Akamaru barked loudly and sprinted towards the end of the yard, most of the dogs following after him. The black pup stayed with Kiba, curling up in his lap, while a few more bigger dogs rolled over into the sand at his side. The larger dog in Kankuro's a lap, a broad shouldered, cream colored male with pointed ears, remained where he was seated.

Kankuro threw Kiba a curious look, an eyebrow raised. "You think Gaara's cute?"

Kiba thought it over for a moment. "Yeah, he's pretty cute. His smile is really nice and he's got gorgeous eyes. He's cute, I think anyone would think so."

"Maybe, but I didn't think  _you_  would." Kankuro shifted a little bit, a small grunt tumbling from his lips when the large dog's paw dug into his gut a little bit. "I didn't think you were into guys, is what I'm trying to say without sounding like an ass."

Kiba's head jerked up a little bit in surprise. Right...he  _was_  into guys, wasn't he? That hadn't ever been news to him of course but the only one he'd ever actually told was...well, Akamaru. Not even Shino and Hinata knew, mostly because Kiba's only guy crush had been on Hinata's old flame and Kiba wasn't fond of the idea of making things awkward. But he hadn't really ever said it out loud to anyone that wasn't his dog, hadn't ever had a real reason to. His crush on Naruto hadn't been super serious; he blocked off those feelings only months after they started because it was a dead end. Saying it out loud...It wasn't like he was ashamed of it, because he wasn't. Guys liking other guys wasn't anything new in his life, or in his friends lives, and he knew his mom wouldn't care either. It just felt...private. Intimately private. But Kankuro had asked and any sort of hesitation or refusal from Kiba would just look ridiculous.

Kiba busied his hands with one of the bigger dogs lying beside him, stroking one's golden, shaggy hair. "I'm into girls, but I'm also into guys. I mean I'm pretty sure I am. It counts if I've only liked one guy before, right?"

Kankuro snorted softly. "Yeah, it counts. What guy was it? It wasn't Shino, was it?"

"Absolutely not!" Kiba blanched a bit. "I mean there's nothing wrong with Shino. He's great and kind of cute but he's...sort of like a brother to me at this point, you know?"

"True, true," Kankuro nodded slowly, watching Kiba thoughtfully. "Who was it, then? I'm just going to keep guessing until you tell me and I'll start throwing some really wild names out there. Like Kakashi."

Kiba scowled at the joke before he chuckled a little bit, shaking his head slightly. "It was Naruto, if you really have to know. Around the time he got back from training with Jiriya." It felt like a small weight off his shoulders to finally say it out loud.

"That isn't too surprising." Kankuro grinned a little bit, catching Kiba off guard. Although, what kind of reaction was he honestly expecting? "I'm pretty sure almost everyone's had a crush on Naruto at least once."

"Yeah, me too." Kiba murmured quietly, looking down at the dog in his lap, then at the dog at his side he was petting. "...I've never told anyone else about liking Naruto before."

Kankuro's eyes widened a little bit when Kiba looked back at him. The puppet master looked like he'd been caught doing something wrong. "I didn't like...accidentally pressure you into coming out just now, did I?"

"Oh, god, no you didn't." Kiba assured quickly. He made an attempt to face him more but had to stop himself; he couldn't bother the pup that was clearly comfortable in his lap. That was down right rude. He sighed softly and met Kankuro's worried gaze again. "I just never felt the need to tell anyone, that's all. It wasn't a long lasting crush. Naruto...obviously had feelings for Sasuke so I kind of just shut those feelings down. I did the same thing when I had that pointless crush on Hinata."

"You just...stopped feeling?" Kankuro frowned again, wearing an express that told Kiba he had a  _lot_  more to say. "Didn't that kind of suck?"

Kiba got the feeling this talk was going to be like the one the other night, laced with emotions and concern that he really wasn't used to getting from the friend beside him. But...he couldn't have a tantrum this time. He couldn't freak out just because he was uncomfortable and say something that he knew he was only saying to hurt the other. So he steeled himself a little bit, accepting the fact that this talk was going to make him uncomfortable and accepting the fact that he was going to  _talk about it anyways_.

"It did at first, with the crush on Hinata." Kiba admitted after a moment, trying not to lose himself to his thoughts. "We were on the same team so I saw her almost every day. She was always nice and thoughtful but...whenever Naruto came up or was around it was just super obvious that I didn't have a chance. It felt like a dead end, which it was, and I didn't want to end up hating Naruto over a crush. So I just ignored it, I guess. Focused on training and just being her friend. Eventually it just kinda disappeared and I didn't really mind much."

"Well, what about the crush on Naruto?" Kankuro probed gently.

"That one really wasn't  _that_  bad." He chuckled a little bit. "He came back to Konoha after a few years looking all grown up, taller and cute and all that...but the crush really didn't last that long. I mean anyone with eyes could tell that he was only after Sasuke. That wasn't something I wanted to get in the way of, and I really didn't want to ruin the friendship we had. The crush itself wasn't a big deal."

"You didn't even tell either of them?" Kankuro looked stunned, as if Kiba's words had knocked him completely off course. This time he really did shift around to face him, the large dog in his lap huffing loudly as he was forced to move out of the way. "Like, at all?"

"Of course not. They both had their eyes set on someone else." Kiba insisted. The dog at his side stood up at the sound of Akamaru barking loudly, running off to go and join the other group of dogs rolling around in the sand. Kiba watched the dogs for a second before he looked back at Kankuro once again. "It would have been a lost cause."

"You don't know that, though." Kankuro murmured with a frown on his purple lips. "Like with Hinata...she's with Shino now, right? All she really needed was a bit more time to realize she could do better than someone who wasn't going to feel the same way for her. You could have told her how you felt and sure, maybe she wouldn't feel the same right away, but eventually she might have. She might have realized how great you are...I mean you've always been there for her, always defended her and spoke up for her...I'm not trying to say she _should_  have liked you because of how great a friend you are, but...It was possible she could have."

Kiba glanced away, digging his fingers into the sand. "She wouldn't have liked me either way. She did know I was there for her and everything. Everything you just said, she already knew. She's with Shino now because Shino was just...who she was meant to be with."

"What about Naruto, then? Why didn't you ever tell him? You know Naruto's too nice to let it ruin your friendship."

"Do you really think Naruto would have found me a better option than  _Sasuke_?"

"Well, what makes Sasuke better than you?"

"Everything?"

Kankuro's frown deepened as he looked away from him, watching the dogs roll around in the sand for a little while. His hand came up to run through his hair, tugging at it gently for just a moment before he let his hand drop back into his lap. "You...know you're really not giving yourself enough credit, Kiba."

Kiba scoffed softly, glancing down at his lap as the little black pup started moving around some more, trying to get comfortable again. "Compared to guys like Sasuke and Neji and all of them, I'm really not that great."

Kankuro grunted as he reached out to grab Kiba's chin, making him look at him again. Kiba had a protest ready, he really did, but the intense look of anger on Kankuro's face was enough to make whatever he planned to say die on his lips. Kankuro's grip on Kiba's chin didn't falter as he spoke. "You're a thousand times better than any of those guys and I don't want to hear you talking about yourself like that  _ever_  again, Kiba."

Kankuro's voice was firm, stern, with an underlying urgency that almost over powered the anger. Almost. It left Kiba speechless and a little bit afraid, because while he knew Kankuro could be intense and scary, it had been a very long time since he was on the receiving end of it. He wanted to pull away and put some space between them but Kankuro's grip was tight still, kept him in place.

Then, as if he realized how jarring his sudden reaction had been, Kankuro dropped his hand from Kiba's face and looked away from him, frowning down at his lap. "...Sorry. I just get frustrated when people I care about talk down about themselves. After everything Gaara's been through to try and prove he's a good person he still says awful things about himself. As a brother it's...hard." He looked back at Kiba with an exasperated look, like he was suddenly so, so tired. "Then you...you've always been a great guy, Kiba. Better than all those others...I've never heard you talk down about yourself so it was just...I didn't like it."

"It's...it's alright." Kiba ran a hand through his hair, averting his gaze. "I...I mean I'm flattered you think so highly of me..."

"I think the world of you, Inuzuka." Kankuro sighed, shoving Kiba gently as he finally smiled again. "Even if I'm not your best friend, you're mine."

That made Kiba's chest tighten in the same way it did when his anxiety started to spark but he didn't really know why. Kankuro's words were sincere and true, dripped with affection Kiba wanted to soak up...but it hurt. He didn't really deserve that kind of praise, especially not from someone like Kankuro, who treated Kiba so nicely despite the way Kiba acted in return.

"Kankuro I..." He paused, voice caught in his throat. But no, no he couldn't stop now. He cleared his throat again and looked back at the puppet master, hoping his expression looked as sincere as he felt. "What I said the other night...when I said we were basically strangers...it wasn't true. I was just upset and trying to say something mean. I...I really do think you might be one of my best friends, too. I've told you some things that I haven't told anyone else and I trust you. With my life, even. I just...I figured maybe you were thinking too highly of me and it felt wrong because I just feel like I'm not good enough to be held that highly. I'm sorry for hurting your feelings. You're important to me, Kankuro. You're one of my best friends despite the distance and everything else."

Kankuro was shaking his head a little bit and Kiba couldn't place his expression entirely but it looked pained. Maybe worried? "Have you always been this down on yourself?"

_Of course I have_ , Kiba wanted to say. He'd known that since he was a child, over critical of himself while he was surrounded by so many other exceptional people his age who could do so much more. He just...never thought about it. Not while he was older, at least. Nothing good came of an adult falling into those kinds of thoughts, into their own inferiority complex that he didn't even know the source of. "I don't know. Maybe? I don't usually think too much into my own feelings if you want me to be perfectly honest."

He was sure Kankuro had something to say about that but to his relief the door to the kennels opened and the girl from before stepped out. A couple of the smaller dogs bolted away from Akamaru, nearly tackling Kankuro and Kiba on their way to rushing to her, yipping and barking at her legs. She knelt down to scoop up one of them, holding the animal close as she smiled towards Kankuro. "You guys doing okay out here?"

"Yeah, we're good." Kankuro's smile was all kindness and warmth, but even Kiba could tell it was fake.

The girl's amber eyes drifted to Kiba again and she tilted her head at him a little bit. "Kankuro said your sister is a vet in Konoha?"

"Yeah, she is." Kiba offered up a small smile, nodding. "She's actually the one who made the vaccine for that dog flu virus thing that started to show up a couple of years ago."

That seemed to catch her attention more than anything else, her eyes widened a bit. "Really? Man, that vaccine saved so many of our dogs when we got it from Konoha after the virus hit here."

"Yeah, I heard it hit here pretty bad." Kiba murmured. "It sounds awful, all the dogs you lost and everything..."

"It was." She set the dog in her arms down again, hands coming to rest on her hips as she surveyed the mess of dogs running around in the sand. "It was really scary. We've never had any sort of animal virus in Suna so we had no clue what to do. We didn't even know other villages had the same problem until the Kazekage's sister came and heard about what was going on. She told the Kazekage there was a vaccine in Konoha next thing we knew we had emergency shipments sent a few days later. Your sister, she saved the rest of our dogs. We're really thankful."

Kiba took pride in the praise anyone gave his sister. Hana worked hard to do what she did and to be  _so good at it_ , at that. He admired that in her a lot and if her actions helped save the lives of animals outside of Konoha too, well then that was great. He'd have to tell her when he got home. "I'm glad the vaccine helped you guys. She spent weeks working on it."

The girl's smile softened a bit as she nodded, looking back at Kiba again. "Be sure to give us our thanks when you return home."

"I will." Kiba murmured.

She had to excuse herself then to go back inside, not wanting to leave the front unattended for too long. The dogs that had previously been excited about her presence trotted back towards Akamaru, save for another small pup, this one black and white. It sniffed at Kiba, little stumpy tail wagging like crazy, and Kiba scooped it up in his arms and kissed the top of it's head. "Another pup for me to cuddle, huh?"

Beside him Kankuro chuckled softly, reaching over to pet the pup in Kiba's arms. The little dog yipped, playfully nipping at Kankuro's fingers, and he snorted softly. "Oh, a tough guy, huh?"

"Tough  _girl_." Kiba corrected him. "This is a tough little lady."

"Oh, pardon me little lady." Kankuro smiled softly, giving in and letting the puppy chew on his hand as he glanced at Kiba again. "You know...the other day we were talking about things you'd want to do if you decided you didn't wan to to focus on just being a shinobi and stuff. You could work officially at your sister's vet clinic. You usually just help her out but you could help her run it. You love animals, Kiba. It would be good for you...saving animal's lives and everything. I'm sure Hana wouldn't mind at all if you wanted to work there for real."

Kiba shrugged a little bit, grinning softly when the pup switched from gnawing on Kankuro's fingers to simply licking at them instead. "I'm no where near as good at all that vet stuff as Hana is, though. I can bandage, patch wounds, do stitches and give shots but...the other stuff I'm awful at."

"What, the medical jutsu part?" Kankuro asked him. "You can learn. You're never too old to learn. It would be great, you know? You love animals...and with two of you working there officially Hana wouldn't be as overworked or exhausted all the time."

"I know." Kiba sighed a bit. "I just...you know me. I get frustrated when I don't learn things right away and I know medical jutsu is harder than you'd expect. I just know I'll have a fit at some point."

"Well yeah, but you'll get the hang of it." Kankuro insisted. "It's just like learning any other jutsu and you know a lot of those, don't you? You just need the drive to do it, Kiba. You're a great shinobi and believe it or not, you're kind of a fast learner. But don't stress on all of this too much. Like I've said before, it's just a suggestion in case you want to do something other than active duty all the time."

It was a nice thought if Kiba were to be entirely honest. It was something he had thought about before but never brought up with his mom or sister, too busy tied up with missions and everything else to really focus too hard on it.

They stayed at the shelter for another hour and a half, Kiba rolling around in the sand with the puppies while Akamaru kept all the bigger and older dogs entertained. When they finally left, Kankuro practically dragging Kiba out, they bid the girl at the counter a nice goodbye and headed back towards home. Kiba couldn't stop the small smile that played on his lips as he leaned into Kankuro while they walked, making the other stumble a bit. "Thanks for taking me there, Kankuro. It was great. I had no clue Suna even had a shelter."

"Well, I figured you and Akamaru were probably getting a bit home sick or something. It's no problem." Kankuro chuckled, slinging his arm around Kiba's shoulders as they walked down the road. "I'm glad you had fun. It's cute watching you roll around with a bunch of puppies."

"Cute?" Kiba echoed with a snort. "You're so full of shit."

"I am not!" Kankuro gasped. "I'd never  _lie_  to you!"

"Yeah, sure." Kiba glanced away to hide the soft smile that played on his lips. "Hana's gonna be really happy when I tell her the vaccines saved dogs here. I'm sure she sent them out with that exact intention but whenever she sends out vaccines to other villages she feels bad for not going too, just to make sure things go well."

"Your sister's got a good heart." Kankuro murmured softly. "I hope the news makes her happy. She should be proud of herself for making that vaccine in the first place. Considering no one had ever really seen that kind of virus in dogs before, it was a blessing."

"Yeah, it was."

Despite how much time they had spent at the shelter, and the few stops Kiba had managed to convince Kankuro to make to buy some sweets, it was still early in the evening when they came back to the house. Gaara had beaten them home, though, saying something along the lines of wanting to relax after a long and tiring meeting that got absolutely  _nothing_  done. He looked much more relaxed as he reclined in the couch now that he was used to Kiba's presence in the house. It took him a day or so to loosen up when they had guests staying over, Kankuro had explained the previous night. If Gaara was comfortable with him now then Kiba was glad. When he and Kankuro kicked off their shoes by the door Gaara stood up, straightening his clothes.

"I was going to make dinner tonight, if that's alright?" His green eyes darted to Kankuro, seeking permission.

"That's fine with me." Kankuro assured with a dismissive wave of his hand. "If you need any help just call for us; Kiba won't mind helping you out if you need it, I'm sure."

Gaara disappeared into the kitchen after a small nod. Kiba honestly didn't know Gaara knew how to cook. Picturing Gaara running around a kitchen fretting over food seemed...very out of place. Almost anything domestic seemed a bit out of place when it came to Gaara, but Kiba blamed that on the fact that up until now he'd only ever seen Gaara in battle or in office. Though the same thing used to be said about his own mother, back before his friends found out that Tsume Inuzuka was as much of pro in the kitchen as she was in battle.

Kiba plopped down on the couch beside Kankuro, eyes drifting towards a small table on the side of the couch. He leaned over and reached for a picture frame on it, pulling it over to himself and looking it over. The picture must have been taken recently, within the last few years. It was of Kankuro and Temari, Temari's arms draped over her brother's shoulders and her chin resting on his head. Both of them had smiles on their lips and from what it looked like, the picture had been taken in the Kazekage's office. Probably by Gaara, Kiba figured. "You and Temari are pretty close, huh?"

"Huh?" Kankuro looked over ta him, eyes falling to the picture frame held in the other's hands. He chuckled softly as he nodded, leaning his head against the back of the couch. "Yeah...we've always been pretty close, actually."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Kankuro murmured, plucking the picture from Kiba's hand to look at it for a second. His expression softened as he sighed a little bit, leaning over Kiba to place the picture back on the table beside the couch. "She and I just understood each other on a level no one else really did. Especially when we were little...she was the only one that knew how it felt to survive the way we did. To be so...terrified of our little brother, to feel so guilty for being terrified of him.." His soft expression almost seemed to shatter, a frown on his lips as his eyes narrowed a bit. "She knew what it was like to have mom there one day and then have her be gone the next. To have our dad shut himself down on us when we didn't even really understand why...She's always understood what it was like for me because it was like that for her, too. She was...confused and afraid and guilty, but she knew she couldn't show that kind of emotion around most people. Especially not Gaara, when he was so young and didn't even know what he was..."

Kankuro shifted, pulling his knees up to his chest on the couch. His chin came to rest on his knees, watching Kiba from the corner of his eye. "Even when we were older and Gaara was starting to get better...we were happy for him but we were sad because we knew the village wasn't going to change their opinions in a day. Not about him and not about us, because we didn't have a very good reputation either. Temari..." He sucked in a breath and let it out slowly, finally smiling again. "Temari was pretty much our mom. She's always been like that, one way or another. I don't know what I would have done if she wasn't around. I love my sister to death. That's...that's why her moving was so hard on me. Don't get me wrong, being with Gaara is great. We're so close now, closer than we've ever been and I'm glad. It's just...so weird not to have Temari here, too. It's always been the three of us against the world. Always been Temari and I protecting Gaara and each other."

Kiba wasn't sure if he'd ever be prepared for the times when Kankuro was vulnerable with him. It always knocked him off his feet and took all words from his mouth. Not that he didn't feel blessed to see this side of Kankuro. It was a side of himself that Kankuro didn't let anyone else see, save for his siblings, and well...Kiba liked feeling important to people. He liked knowing he was trusted so deeply.

"I understand." Kiba found his words finally, stretching out on the couch until his feet pressed against Kankuro's thigh. "Hana and I aren't as close in age as you and Temari are but...I get it. When Mom would be out for long periods of time on missions Hana would watch me. There was this one time where Mom was gone for almost two weeks and I got sick-"

"Oh god, a sick baby sitting story." Kankuro chuckled as he shifted, stretching back out and moving Kiba's feet into his lap. "Keep talking, what happened?"

"Well I was running this insane fever and it was like, the middle of the night." Kiba explained, eyes flicking down to watch Kankuro's hands as the puppet master's finger tips grazed his ankle. "Hana was freaking out, she's like twelve and I'm like six or something. She doesn't know what to do, she doesn't want to leave me alone to go get a doctor. She ends up dumping me in an ice cold bath to get my fever down. I threw a huge fit and made such a big mess. Hana almost cried, honestly. But she got my fever down and got me into bed. She laid with me all night." His smile softened a little bit as he thought about it. "My sister was like a second mom for most of my life. I mean, our mom did a great job. She did what she had to do, too...so sometimes it was just Hana and I for a couple weeks at a time when I was young. It's like you said about Temari. She gets it. She understands what it was like to have mom gone a lot and to have people tell us how  _brave_  our mom was for raising us on our own. She hated that, by the way. Mom wasn't brave for being our mom. She was just...a mom. A damn good one. Hana's just always been there for me and I don't really know where I'd be without her."

"Sister's are great, aren't they?" Kankuro asked softly. His finger tips were stroking Kiba's ankle still and it sort of tickled, but Kiba didn't want to pull away.

It felt foreign, this new closeness they had between them. Back when they were kids the closest they had ever gotten was when Kankuro saved his life and had to help him back to the village. The only closeness they had when they were older, during Kankuro's visits to Konoha, were drunken hugs and the way Kankuro sat just close enough for their knees to touch that night he spilled his guts to Kiba. This though...it was different, Kiba knew it was. Kankuro wrapped his arm around his shoulders whenever they walked anywhere, nudged him with his elbow, always sat so close that Kiba could feel the heat of his body beside him. And now there was this, those finger tips tracing idle circles on his ankle while his dark eyes stayed focused on Kiba's face.

Kiba didn't really mind the closeness though. He sort of felt like he was craving it, like he was touch starved. Which he knew he  _wasn't_. A closeness was good in a friendship and it felt natural, almost like they've always been like this. He lazily let his head fall to the side, resting on the back of the couch as he stared right back at Kankuro with a small smile. "Yeah, sisters are pretty great." He agreed softly. "I wish you could see Temari more."

"Me too." Kankuro admitted, eyes darting in the direction of the kitchen for a split second. "But it's good here with Gaara. He needs me."

Dinner was ready not too soon afterwards. Gaara was skilled in the kitchen, Kiba found out, as his mouth watered at the meat, rice, and vegetables that were prepared. They made bowls for themselves and sat at the table, Akamaru taking his place lying in the door way like he usually did. Not begging, of course. For a while Kiba listened to Gaara talk about his day at the office and the meeting he absolutely hated every second of. He was funny when he complained about work; his voice never wavered but he actually pouted, if it could be called a pout on someone as intimidating as Gaara.

"It was awful. Absolutely nothing got done despite how long everyone argued." Gaara muttered, chewing a mouthful of rice and vegetables with a little more force than necessary. "But, enough about my day. What did the two of you do?"

"Kankuro took me and Akamaru to the dog shelter." Kiba grinned as he looked up from his bowl.

"Oh?" Gaara smiled slightly, glancing at his brother. "Was the girl that's fond of Kankuro working today?"

"She was." Kiba nodded, moving some rice around in his bowl. "She was totally flirting with him while I was there, too."

"She always does!" Kankuro insisted loudly, groaning a little bit. "Every time she see's me around the village, too! Not just when I drop by the shelter!"

"She's only trying to get into your pants, Kankuro." Gaara told him, chuckling a little bit.

"Yeah, I know and she's not succeeding in the slightest." Kankuro grumbled, an irritated scowl on his face.

Gaara, though, seemed even more amused than before. "Well, I wonder why  _that_  is." His eyes darted to Kankuro and, judging by the way the older man stiffened and narrowed his eyes back at him, Kiba had the feeling he was missing out on some vital information there.

Kankuro looked away from his brother, turning to Kiba so quickly Kiba feared he'd get whiplash. "That reminds me! When we were talking earlier you said you haven't dated or anything like that. So...does that mean you're a virgin, too?"

Kiba choked on the rice he was trying to swallow, coughing a few times and leaning away from the table a little bit. "E-excuse me?"

" _Kankuro_." Gaara hissed, frowning a little bit at him. "That's not something you ask someone at the table."

"You want to talk about things you don't do at the table?" Kankuro snorted. "Need I remind you of what I walked in on you and Lee doing on this table?"

Well, that shut Gaara up, pale cheeks flushing bright red. He looked back towards Kiba, huffing softly. "I tried to help you. My apologies."

Kiba looked back at Kankuro when he finally stopped choking, clearing his throat as he barely managed a small scowl. He was too embarrassed for it to look anywhere near intimidating. "Why is that important?"

"I mean it isn't, but I wanna know!" Kankuro's foot nudged his leg under the table. "Out of the three of us at this table a total stranger wouldn't think it was you that was the virgin! They'd think it was Gaara." He was pointedly ignoring the glare Gaara was shooting him from the other side of the table. "I mean I'm not making fun of you for being a virgin, Kiba, so don't think I am."

Kiba huffed again as he looked down at his food. "Yes, I'm a virgin. If I haven't dated then it's pretty obvious I haven't done...any of that other stuff."

"You don't have to date someone to sleep with them." Gaara chimed in, earning a surprised look from  _both_  of them. He blinked in surprise, lips pressing together tightly for a moment. "Don't look at me like that. I was simply making a statement."

"Yeah, sure." Kankuro eyed him for another moment or two before deciding to let the comment slide. He brought a mouthful of rice to his mouth, chewing slowly as he glanced at Kiba again. Kiba squinted at him almost instantly and Kankuro forced down a smile, speaking up once his mouth wasn't full. "Have you done...anything? With anyone?"

" _God_." Kiba groaned loudly, trying to fight off the blush forming on his cheeks. "I've only kissed someone before and it can't even really be counted as a kiss in the first place so no, I haven't done anything."

"Why can't it be counted?" Really, of all the topics to catch Gaara's interest Kiba was a little surprised that it was sexual experience that had managed to drag up so much interest from him. He wanted to blame Lee, blame him for tainting the poor Kazekage's mind. "Why doesn't it count? Is it embarrassing?"

"No it isn't embarrassing." Kiba assured them. "It was on a mission a couple years back. We saved this woman and her little sister from bandits that had been chasing them down for like, two weeks. We got them home safely and everything and she kissed me as a thanks. It was a nice kiss, sure, but I don't really count it because she kind of just ran up and did it. I didn't have any warning and I didn't even really want to kiss her in the first place."

"Oh god, was it your first kiss?" Kankuro probed. "Did you have your first kiss  _stolen_?"

"Yep." Kiba nodded firmly. "She was pretty, though, and it wasn't awful. So I mean it's not like I'm mad about it. I just don't really count it because I didn't even like her. I'd only count it if I liked the person."

"That's so sappy." Kankuro snorted. He was finished with his food now and he stood up, carrying his dishes to the sink to clean off. "But I'm done teasing you now, I apologize. It's just been a couple of days and I was dying from the lack of teasing. It was an actual physical pain."

Kiba looked back at Gaara with an exasperated sigh. "Your brother is an ass, you know."

"I'm aware." Gaara smiled softly and stood up, taking his bowl to the sink. Kankuro took it from him to wash and the red head turned to look at Kiba once again. "I've received a letter from the team your father is with. They should be here in three days."

"Three days, huh?" Kiba murmured, pushing around the last few bits of meat in his bowl idly. "Alright...Thanks for that, Gaara. Three days doesn't sound too bad. Did things over in the Cloud go well, or is that official Kage business I'm not supposed to know?"

Gaara chuckled softly and made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "It's...technically official but it's you, so it won't be an issue telling you. The mission went well. Your father apparently was needed for surgery on a high ranking official. The surgery went well from what their quick letter told me and there were no other issues."

_Your father_. It felt weird to have that phrase said so casually, as if it was something they talked about all the time. They didn't, of course. Gaara seemed to be the only one that brought it up without any hesitations. But then again Gaara was a Kage and he was no stranger to talking about sensitive subjects when others wouldn't. Kankuro seemed to talk about everything and anything, unless it was about Kiba's dad. It kind of felt like he was tip toeing around it, maybe a little worried Kiba would explode on him again. Which...Kiba could understand. He was actually sort of thankful Kankuro didn't go out of his way to bring it up, though. Unlike Gaara who stated the facts and then let it drop, Kankuro would pry and probe. He meant well, but still.

Gaara disappeared up stairs when Kiba was finally done with his food and once dishes were washed and put away, Kiba followed Kankuro to the living room where they both collapsed onto the couch again. Kiba's feet found their way into Kankuro's lap again and this time, when the other's finger tips stroked his ankles, Kiba didn't spare it a second glance.

"So, what about you?"

Kankuro blinked in surprise as he looked over at him. "What?"

"You were going on about my lack of sexual experience, and you said I was the only virgin there at the table." Kiba explained as he stretched out a little more, fishnet shirt riding up his stomach a bit. "So what's your experience? Temari never mentioned you dating before."

"Cause I haven't really dated." Kankuro admitted, shrugging. "I mean I dated a few people way back when we were young but it wasn't anything serious. All my experience comes from flings, stuff that only lasted a few days."

Well, that certainly caught Kiba's interest. "So...you didn't date anyone you slept with? You don't really...strike me as that kind of guy, honestly. There a reason behind all that?"

"I wasn't that kind of guy for a while." Kankuro admitted. His fingers were moving again and before Kiba really realized it, the puppet master was massaging his calves gently, just enough for it to feel both weird and...very good. Kiba let it slide. "I was pretty serious about the first few girls I dated but they were awful matches. Then a couple guys I was serious about...but a lot of the people I was serious about were just trying to cozy their way up to Gaara. Once people started getting it through their thick skulls that Gaara really wasn't a bad guy, they were all falling left and right for him. It was annoying. So I guess I kind of just settled for flings afterwards. I haven't really been into anyone here in the village in ages, anyways. I only really hook up with people once in a while, when I gotta let off some steam."

"That...sounds like it sucks." Kiba admitted, lip caught between his teeth. He never imagined Kankuro as the sleep around type but to hear that even Kankuro, who seemed so caught off guard by Kiba's habit of shoving his own feelings down, resorted to one night stands and hook ups because of how people treated him...well, it kind of made Kiba feel sick to his stomach. "Fuck all those people that were using you. You're too good for them, anyways."

"Oh, am I?"

"Yes!" Kiba insisted, sitting up quickly and shifting around so he was sitting so close to the other, they were nearly joined at the hip. He huffed, a vague sense of irritation directed at the people Kankuro had mentioned making his fist tingle with the desire to hit something. "You're understanding and nice and funny, and not to mention you're thoughtful. Whoever couldn't see that and decided they had a right to use you isn't worth the time and if I ever see whoever these people are I'll deck them so hard their great grandparents are gonna jolt out of their fucking graves."

He hadn't really taken into consideration how close they were, their faces only inches apart by the time Kiba growled out his little rant. They were close enough that Kiba could see where Kankuro's face paint was faded in some spots, chipping in others where he hadn't taken as much care in applying it as he usually did. In a hurry, probably, to take Kiba out. He could see that Kankuro was biting his lower lip, too, and when his eyes zeroed in on that he huffed and brought his hand up to gently pry the other's painted lip from his teeth. "Hey, don't bite your damn lip when you have that face shit on. You're gonna get paint on your teeth or in your mouth."

Kankuro's body jolted when Kiba's thumb pressed to his lip, dark eyes widening as he leaned so far back, he was almost bending over the arm of the couch backwards. Kiba nearly toppled over on top of him, yelping as he managed to catch himself before his face plowed into Kankuro's stomach, and then he huffed loudly as his head shot up. "What the hell?"

"You just surprised me!" Kankuro insisted quickly, a dusting of pink showing up past the purple painted on his face. "I didn't think you were going to touch my face or anything! Warn a guy!"

"Well, it's not like I was going to tear your face off or anything!" Kiba grunted, pushing himself up so he was sitting up straight once again. He reached out and grabbed Kankuro by the front of his shirt, yanking him into an upright position, too. "I was trying to be nice and you totally flipped out on me." Well, he felt only slightly mortified, at least.

"It was an accident." Kankuro groaned, his arm slipping around Kiba's shoulders to pull him into a sideways hug. "Thank you for worrying, but the paint is non-toxic and wouldn't make me sick if it got in my mouth."

"Okay, but do you really want to walk around with purple paint on your  _teeth_  like a fool?" Kiba asked him, leaning into his embrace. "I was trying to help save your self image."

"Kiba, the only ones who would have seen it would be you, Gaara, or Akamaru."

"Hey, Akamaru can be quite the bully." Kiba informed him, earning a huff from the dog across the room. "He'll see that paint on your teeth and he'll shame you into next year. He's just dying to bully people."

"I wonder where he got that from." Kankuro muttered playfully.

Kiba gasped loudly, one hand flying up to dramatically grasp his chest in mock hurt. "Kankuro I'm offended you'd even assume I was anything but sweet. I would never bully anyone!"

"Oh that's right; you're an absolute angel. How could I ever forget?" Kankuro murmured, gently bumping his head into the side of Kiba's.

Kiba snorted quietly and gently shoved the other back a bit, letting his smile falter a little bit as he glanced back at his friend. "Hey...I meant what I said, though. Don't waste your time or thoughts on people who don't treat you right. You're worth way more than what those jerks think."

"Getting defensive over my honor?" Kankuro chortled a bit. The sound died on his lips in less than a second though and he sighed, finally letting his head rest on Kiba's shoulder. "Thanks, though, for saying that. It means a lot, coming from you."

Kiba felt something warm blossom in his chest as he nodded, just a little. "Yeah, no problem, man. You deserve the world."

And honestly, Kiba meant it with all his heart.

* * *

Kiba was woken up the next morning by Akamaru, pawing at his bedroom door and whining to be let out. Kiba groaned as he sat up, fish net shirt sticking to his sweaty chest, making him grimace a bit. "Hang on, Boy, I'm coming."

Akamaru sprinted out of the bedroom and down the hall, racing for the back door down stairs that Kiba knew Gaara left open for him. Kiba took his time, peeling off his shirt before he left his room before making his way downstairs. It was surprisingly quiet and Kiba couldn't smell anything cooking in the kitchen like there usually was. He didn't hear Kankuro moving around, either. It had him frowning a little bit as he scratched his chest, peeking into the kitchen to confirm that yes, it was indeed empty. He was home alone in the house, for the first time since he arrived in Suna. Not that he minded. A break from social interaction first thing in the morning actually sounded really nice.

With Akamaru out in the yard doing his business Kiba made his way to the kitchen. Over the last few days he'd kept a close eye on where everything was so it wasn't too hard to find what he wanted; a bowl, the cereal, and the milk hidden in the back of the fridge hidden behind the several containers of juice Gaara liked so much. He made his cereal and sat down at the table, watching as Akamaru trotted back in to rush to his bowl, filled with dog food Kankuro had bought a couple days ago.

"We're on our own for a bit, Akamaru. So no mess making."

Akamaru looked up at him, offended at the implication that he made  _messes_. Kiba stuck his tongue out at him. "I'm just saying! I wasn't implying that you were a mess maker!"

Akamaru simply snorted at him, too enticed by his own breakfast to spare Kiba too much concern for now. Kiba snorted right back at him, eating his cereal in comfortable silence. Though it did feel a little odd for the house to be so quiet without Kankuro padding around the kitchen. Kiba was used to constant noise at home too, with dogs, his sister, and his mom around all the time. And here he'd gotten to used to waking up around the same time as Kankuro, or in time to hear the older man moving around in the kitchen making breakfast for the both of them. He was kind of curious about what had drug Kankuro out of the house in the first place. He figured he was with Gaara, if anything.

He could handle a few hours alone anyways. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, exactly, but he'd find some way to keep himself occupied.

With his cereal bowl eventually washed out he ventured out of the kitchen, heading back upstairs. He paused on the way to his room to peer into the bathroom, looking around. He and Kankuro hadn't left it very pretty over the last couple mornings. Kankuro had made it a habit of walking in while Kiba was showering and striking up conversation as he got ready for the day. As a result there were smudges of purple paint all over the sink, wet towels piled up near the shower, and Kiba knew for a fact Akamaru's hair was clogged up in the drain from when he tried to join Kiba's shower the previous morning. He could see why Gaara had started using the downstairs bathroom.

He prided himself in being a good house guest; cleaning the bathroom was the least he could do.

Akamaru sat in the door way watching as Kiba got started cleaning, wiping up the paint all over the sink first with an old rag he found in one of the hall cabinets. Kiba actually didn't mind cleaning. His mom was a neat person in all actuality and had passed that habit down to Hana and Kiba. Hana needed it clean anyways in the clinic and Kiba liked helping her straighten things up. Cleaning wasn't the best when it came to wanting a distraction, though. It kept the hands busy, not the mind. So as Kiba scrubbed away the purple paint his mind started to drift off a bit, reminding him that he was just days away from his goal. Days away from seeing his dad, something he had been trying to avoid thinking too hard about. It was starting to really set in though and he noticed, vaguely as he moved to the bathtub so he could get Akamaru's hair from the drain, that his hands were shaking just slightly at the thought.

He pushed the thoughts away as best as he could. Thinking about it while he was alone probably wasn't a good idea.

"Damn, Akamaru, I can't believe how much of your hair is in this drain." He muttered, tossing a wad of wet, clumped up dog hair into the bathroom trash bin. He grimaced a little bit and shook his head. "I'll brush you out later, the heat here might be making you shed more than usual."

Cleaning the bathroom didn't take as long as he thought it was going to. Cleaning Akamaru's hair from the drain took the longest, but after that it only took him another fifteen minutes to get the rest of the room cleaned up. He stood up straight, back popping in a few places after being crouched for so long, and ran a soap scented hand through his hair. "The bathroom's clean...Guess I can brush you out now, Akamaru. We're gonna go outside to do it though so we don't get hair all over the house."

Akamaru liked being brushed, barking excitedly as he all but sprinted down the hall and back down the stairs. Kiba had to stop by his own room to grab the brush he had packed before they left Konoha before he followed the dog out into the back yard. Akamaru, tail wagging wildly, sat still as Kiba knelt down beside him and started brushing his fur out. Brushing Akamaru was a job Kiba had enjoyed a lot when the dog was still small, and he enjoyed it now, too. In fact any task that helped cater to Akamaru's well being was a task he enjoyed doing, except for clipping his nails. Nail clippings made Kiba anxious and he usually left that up to Hana or his mom. It wasn't like Akamaru made it hard, because he didn't, but Kiba was always worried he'd hurt him by accident by clipping just a little too much. Akamaru had dark claws, after all, and it was hard to tell when to stop.

The amount of hair that flew off of Akamaru's body as Kiba ran the brush over him was almost ridiculous. He shed a lot normally in the summer, but with the added stress of Suna's extreme heat the shedding was almost three times as bad. He could make another dog with the amount of hair forming in the sand, a smaller dog sure, but  _another dog_.

"You're lucky I love you so much, big guy, or all this hair would be such a pain in the ass. But I don't mind. I love you and every single hair you have, even the hair that falls off of you." Kiba told the dog casually, pressing a kiss to the side of his muzzle. Akamaru barked loudly, turning his face to lick at Kiba's cheek, dragging a soft chuckle from Kiba's lips. "Oh good, you love me too. I was worried."

Brushing Akamaru knocked off a good half hour, but Kiba found himself once again confronted by his own boredom as they both ventured back into the living room. Hands on his hips, Kiba finally heaved a sigh. "Well Akamaru, how about I go snag a shirt from Kankuro's closet and we go for a walk?"

Kankuro's room was exactly the same way it was when Kiba had crept into it the other day. The bed was a bit messier, though, and Kiba had to wonder if Kankuro tossed and turned a lot during the night. He made his way to the other's closet and opened it up, pointedly avoiding looking at the puppets leaning against the wall. Kankuro had a lot of shirts he didn't even wear half the time and Kiba looked through them, settled on a black short sleeved shirt that ended up being a little baggy on him when he pulled it on. He ran his hands over it, straightening it out a bit, before he paused to gently tug it up and sniff it. It smelled just like Kankuro, making his cheeks grow hot. He cleared his throat and hurried out. "Let's go, Akamaru!"

* * *

Kiba walked through the Kazekage building, hands shoved deep in his pockets. Their walk had lasted nearly all afternoon and by the time Kiba decided he wanted to go and find Kankuro, boredom too overwhelming, the sun was getting close to setting. His face was a common sight around the village by now so no one questioned him as he made his way towards Gaara's office. Akamaru had gone to the house so Kiba was alone, humming softly to himself as Gaara's door appeared in his line of vision. He stopped in front of it and knocked, waiting patiently for a reply.

"Come in." Gaara's voice was audible, barely, past the heavy wooden door.

When Kiba made his way in Gaara was at his desk, a hand massaging his temple, and Kankuro was sprawled out on the couch on the other side of the room. Gaara glanced up at him and managed a small smile. "Hello, Kiba. I figured you'd be arriving at some point."

"Yeah, I did pretty much everything I could to pass time." Kiba murmured, taking in the way both brothers looked down right exhausted. "How did you two spend your day?"

Kankuro groaned softly. "Gaara wanted me here to help with the meeting they never finished yesterday. That's all we've been doing all day. We literally just got done ten minutes ago."

Kiba's eyes widened. "You've been in a meeting all  _day_?"

"Yes." Gaara muttered through grit teeth. "And, again, nothing got done. It's a wonder how many people suddenly have informed opinions when I'm trying to work out immigration regulations."

"Immigration regulations?" Kiba murmured, taking a seat in a chair. "What's going on?"

Gaara sighed and leaned back in his chair. "There was a small grouping of tiny villages in the Land of Water that were demolished by a flood. Most of the refugees have requested permission to move here to Suna and I have no problems with that, but the council thinks it's a bad idea."

"They're worried about where we're going to let them all live and how we're going to have enough jobs." Kankuro chimed in softly.

Gaara nodded a little bit. "It's a mess...it'll take a few more meetings to clear up, I'm sure. The council wants me to request that Konoha take some of them in as well, but I'm hesitant to ask such a thing from the Leaf when the refuges never asked for their help in the first place."

Kiba frowned a little bit. "Damn...I'm sorry. That must be quite a mess to work out."

"Don't worry about it." Kankuro rolled off the couch and stood up straight, running his hand through his hair. "C'mon, Kiba. Gaara's got some paper work to finish up; he'll be back kind of late tonight."

Kiba stood up and offered Gaara a small wave, following Kankuro out of the office. They didn't go down the same hall way they usually did, though. They went the exact opposite way, towards stairs that Kiba knew led to the roof.

"That one of my shirts?" Kankuro glanced at him, looking him up and down with an expression Kiba could only describe as...fond.

"Yeah, my stuff is dirty so I just grabbed something from your closet." Kiba told him. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all." Kankuro smiled softly, looking away from him."Looks cute on you."

Kiba almost tripped going up the stairs, catching himself in time to save himself from falling face first on the steps. He didn't question the comment, partially because he was still in shock and also because...well, he didn't mind. It made his face heat up and he tried to fight it off, clearing his throat as he followed Kankuro up the stairs. "Hey, why are we going to the roof?"

"Need a second to breathe after all the crap today." Kankuro said over his shoulder.

Well, the roof seemed the best place for a breather. Up here, at the top of the Kage building, they could see everything. The village that expanded for what looked like miles, the sun that was slowly starting to sink down into the sandy horizon. It took Kiba's breath away as he stood next to his friend, looking out over the bustling village.

"See that?" Kankuro pointed ahead, straight ahead where an empty plot of land seemed to stretch a few miles on it's own. When Kiba nodded in response, Kankuro smiled again. "Gaara and I were telling the council how we can make houses there...apartments, too, if we have to. It's all little families trying to move in, you know? It won't take too much space. If we got started soon, we could be done in a few months before the rains pick up. We have enough jobs for the people that want to come here...over half of them are active duty shinobi and would work as such...it's just crazy. The council is still full of old men who get all weird about large groups of foreigners moving in. I think it would be great, though."

"Yeah?" Kiba glanced at him before he looked back over the village once more. Everything had an orange hue, the slowly dwindling sunlight illuminating everything in sight.

"Well, yeah." Kankuro nodded, hands on his hips. "I know a lot of outsiders don't think Suna's much to look at because it's all sand, pretty much...but it's home. There's always something beautiful about home. If there's outsiders who want to be here and accept this place as their home then that's great and I love the idea. Hell, just look at the sunset! Have you ever seen anything that beautiful?"

Kiba's eyes drifted over to Kankuro and he suddenly found himself drawn to the way the setting sunlight danced on his face. Those purple painted lips tugged up into a smile so soft it made Kiba's chest ache, but beyond the ache there was another feeling. The same feeling he had when he was a kid and Hinata had confided in him her love of the stars. The same feeling he had the first time he saw Naruto again when they were sixteen. A tug at his heart, a gentle hum in his rib cage that accompanied the blush staining his cheeks. An unmistakable feeling of affection that swelled so hard and fast in his throat he almost couldn't breathe.

"No, I've never seen anything that beautiful." Kiba replied softly, eyes locked on the man beside him with awe, hesitation, and a realization hit him so fast it almost gave him whiplash.

Kiba hadn't been referring to the sunset at all.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos? Thoughts?  
> You can follow me on [Tumblr](http://my-tatteredwingsof-freedom.tumblr.com/)


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